What Doesn't Kill You
by Terorisuto SeptUtenaSerge
Summary: A story of the dramatizing past of my original Gundam Wing character, Gabrielle Septum (Sept). Lots of angst!! In the beginning, not much refs to GW. ^_^;; (So bear with me!)
1. The beginning of a very long journey...

Author's note: This is my first fic posting on ff.net, so bear along with me! It's going to be a trying period. ^_^ Not sure how many people make up original chars, but this adds to the list I guess. To sum up Sept, she's a terrorist and has had a really trying lifestyle since a young age. She falls in love with Hiiro (so you can tell for the most part, what kind of fics my later ones will be…). Enjoy!  
  
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Chapter 1  
  
Age: 6  
  
1 Place: L2, Osinarcus home  
  
The petite figure coughed briefly as she wandered about the place that she had known as home for her entire six years of life. Her child eyes and mind still could not perceive the images they had seen. Tears streamed down the sides of her face and left silvery streaks. Her mother was dead and her brother had been taken away. Most likely he would be killed too…  
  
"Why did these men come?" she wondering, shoving the last of necessities into a small pack. She did not have the slightest idea where she would go, but she knew that she had to leave the house. Police would be arriving soon. That much she did know.  
  
A few staggered breaths escaped her lips as she neared the front room where the lifeless body of her mother lay in a pool of sweet crimson huddled around her. In order to leave the premises, she would have to pass it, most likely even step over it.  
  
As the little girl slowly inched towards the motionless figure, light reflected off of some object. "Mommy's necklace…" the little girl whispered as she paused momentarily.  
  
It was the only thing that she knew her mother would have wanted her to have.  
  
The tiny figure halted just at the head of the body. Presently, she squatted down and closed her mother's eyelids then gently unlatched the choker necklace that dangled about her mother's neck. She whimpered as she stood back up and quite casually wrapped the necklace around her own neck and latched it securely.  
  
"I don't wanna leave her like this," the girl thought, shaking her head slowly. She placed her pack next to her mother's head and tip-toed over to the couch, snatching up a blanket that lay across the back. Quickly, or rather as quickly as a child may go, she covered her mother up with the blanket.  
  
The girl gulped hard as she paused to look back one last time. "Okaa- san," she sighed, turning gradually and closing the door quietly behind her.  
  
As she tiny girl trudged through the streets, crisp snow beginning to descend upon them, the days events turned over and over again in her mind…those scary soldier men…her mother getting shot…hiding under the table…and her twin brother being taken away.  
  
Perhaps it was all too much to think about at the time. The important thing was to find somewhere safe and warm to stay. Maybe she could push all of the bad memories to the back of her mind and never have to bring that terrible pain back again.  
  
The little figure tripped up the snow-covered stair to a chapel. She rubbed her now cold face to warm it back up again. She glanced at the sign hanging close by the door before her. Though she was not quite old enough to know how to read, she knew the emblem well. She was at the Maxwell Church and she would be safe, at least for a while.  
  
She hastily stood up and climbed up the steps, knocking harshly upon the door. Father Maxwell and all of the sisters were very kind to homeless children. Abruptly, the door was opened, the light within shooting outside, temporarily blinding the girl.  
  
"My…my mommy's dead," the girl sniffed. "Can I please take shelter here for tonight?" She whimpered softly, rubbing her eyes, hoping to win the sympathy of the figure standing in the doorway.  
  
"Go to the orphanage next door!" a voice screeched, harshly slamming the church door closed. The girl stood, quite dumbfounded and shocked. She cautiously glanced at the building next to the church. It looked very cold and uninviting…  
  
She shivered as she stepped out into the fresh fallen snow, white specks continuing toward their descent. There was some sort of weather machine that created all of the weather on the colony. It was never real.  
  
The girl sighed shortly as she paused at the top of the steps to knock lightly on the door to the orphanage. She had known some kids who had lived in the orphanage. Needless to say, they were not too happy.  
  
Abruptly, the door flung open and a decrepit, older woman stood in the doorway. The girl slowly looked up at the woman and panicked by the time she reached her face. Suddenly, the girl screamed and turned to run, but she was plucked up by the old woman.  
  
"You are homeless, I presume. Don't worry, child. We'll take good care of you," the old lady reassured as she ushered the young girl into a warm, cozy kitchen. "Maybe it won't be as bad as I thought," she pondered as the lady gave her some sort of warm broth in a cup. She was not hungry, but she was quite cold. So she sipped at the broth contentedly.  
  
"You've had a long journey, little one. Do not fear. You will be taken care of from now on," the lady calmly replied as she tucked the tiny tot into a warm bed. "It seems like the entire day was a nightmare, but it's all gone and over now. Things are gonna change," the little girl pondered as she drifted off to a quiet slumber. 


	2. Lamenting on family

1 Chapter 2  
  
Age: Almost 7 (a couple months later)  
  
Place: L2, Stolk Orphanage, next to Maxwell Church  
  
It had been a few months since the little girl, who everyone in the orphanage affectionately called "Gabe" had been brought in off of the streets. She was slowly but surely taking to the life of an orphan, perhaps hoping to find a loving family. But none would ever compare to the family that she had lost…  
  
Gabe sat curled up beside the refrigerator in the expansive kitchen, where her new life at the orphanage had all begun. She missed her mother and brother terribly. She wondered if her brother was still alive somewhere…Maybe someday she could find him…  
  
Suddenly, a harsh rapping came from beyond the door, which resided on the far side of the kitchen. The door creaked open gradually and in slipped a robust woman, holding a large basket in her plump arms. The round lady took a quick glance about the kitchen and, detecting no one, she threw her head back. "OH MISS STOOOOOOOOOLK?!"  
  
Gabe stared blankly, watching the lady trying idly to look for the keeper to the orphanage, who slowly sauntered into the kitchen at the woman's summoning. "Yes? I'm here," she slowly stated, smiling softly as she always did.  
  
The robust lady grinned from ear to ear at the sight of the old woman. "You look better than you usually do! I have a bit of gossip, if you're willing to lend a hopeful ear."  
  
The old woman slowly shook her head as she reached the round woman.  
  
"You don't change, do you? I'm not looking any better than I have for the past few years. But what is this gossip that you have to tell me? I know you'll say it regardless of whether I want to hear it or not," the old woman chuckled, shaking her head from side to side.  
  
The robust woman laughed heartily. "I love gossip! In any case, you know that young woman Nadine who came to the colony a while back?" She paused momentarily to assure herself that she had the elder's attention still.  
  
The elder nodded her head slowly. "Nadine was in trouble when she first came here. How can I forget that precious young woman? She was so sweet and kind…"  
  
"She was indeed…well, the police got a call from one of her neighbors who had heard rapid gunfire by her house. When they went to investigate, they found her lying dead in the front room of her house! I couldn't believe it when I heard! And worst of all, whoever committed this crime also took her small children!"  
  
The old woman was shocked. She simply shook her head and softly murmured, "I can't believe it…and I thought there was hardly any crime on the colonies…" Both of the women bowed their heads in respect, then glanced at each other.  
  
Gabe cupped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from crying or making any sounds that would attract attention to herself. Word was out about what had happened to her family. She wasn't sure what to do…maybe she wouldn't be allowed to forget about her past, but she could sure as hell try.  
  
She promptly stood up, attracting the attention of the two older women, who were frankly shocked that there was somebody in the kitchen, and ran straight out of the kitchen care of the back door.  
  
"Oh no…GABE!!" the elder screeched, but there was not much she could do. Leaving the little girl alone would probably be the best idea in the first place. But there was something that just did not feel right to the old woman…  
  
"She'll be back, Stolk. Don't worry too much. They always come back one way or another…" the plump woman sighed, shaking her head. "I'll be off then. She'll return, just you see…" The fat hand gripped around the door knob and promptly slammed the door closed behind her.  
  
"She must be Nadine's little girl…" the old woman thought to herself, sighing hopelessly. "That poor thing…" 


	3. Street Life

1 Chapter 3  
  
2 Age: 9  
  
3 Place: L2, Stolk Orphanage  
  
"Gabrielle Osinarcus!!!" a fairly familiar voice screeched as she struggled to stand just as an older version of the once younger girl ran down the street laughing. Things had indeed changed. The girl who the now much older woman knew, grew from sweetness to extreme bitterness. She could simply not understand why. There was something that the now 9 year old was hiding about her past that she refused to tell anyone.  
  
"Gabrielle, wait up!" a boy of roughly the same age called to the girl as she ducked down an ally. The boy halted as he caught up to her, almost slamming into her head-on.  
  
"Naïve. Call me Gabe," she grinned as her and the boy waited for their group of fellow street kids. They always met at the same place and time every day, much like clockwork. The girl was part of a gang now and did not consider herself an orphan at all. She had tried being in foster homes twice. On both occasions, she ran away back to the orphanage. Even that place didn't feel quite like home.  
  
Soon enough a bunch of other boys joined them, including a skinny, anxious youngster who lived at the church. The sole reason he joined the group this day was to taunt them, especially the girl. She was just so weird and, for the most part, she pretended and acted like a boy. She was some character.  
  
"Ne, minna wa genki desu ka?" the girl snuffed out toward the ravenous pack of boys gathered nearby. There was a chorus of grunts and abrupt, short responses to the tomboy. The girl nodded in reply as she took her watchful eye over the group. It was ritual to talk to the new kids if there were any and she only spotted one. A boy, clad entirely in black, leaned against the splatter-painted wall of the alley casually. He appeared quite smug with a trail of sienne swinging in a braid behind him.  
  
"You." The girl grunted, easily stepping up to the outcast, sneering as she looked over him again. "Just what in the hell do you think yer doin' here?!" the girl scoffed, still standing before the boy as he shrugged casually. "You fucker," she grumbled, harshly snatching him by the collar. "You are from the Maxwell Church. What the hell are you doing here?!" she repeated.  
  
"I have a right to be here just as much as your ruffians," the boy sneered, placing his own hands over the girl's and pulling them from his person. "Just because I live in a church DOESN'T mean I'm a saint," the boy spat out, glaring into the deep, icy jade eyes of the girl with his own set of violet pools.  
  
"Who cares, Gabe?" the boy who had first been there with the girl reconciled, setting his hand on her shoulder. "Let him come." The girl gently rolled her shoulder, shrugging off the boy's hand, still glaring the church kid down. A soft, threatening growl could plainly be heard by all present.  
  
"Don't piss me off," Gabe finally stated, swiftly turning on the heel of her boot. The church boy swiped a hand across his own forehead to be rid of the beads of tender sweat that had gathered there. He had heard of the girl who was as tough as any boy, if not tougher. She had committed many minor offenses but officials said if she had the opportunity, she would probably kill a body with her own bare hands.  
  
"My name's Duo," the boy gleefully stated, adjoining the now huddling group. All of the other boys nodded to Duo, muttering as little words as possible. As soon as the huddle began, it was no time for talking.  
  
"Today's event is car trashing. Who got the supplies?" Gabe grinned, quickly glancing about the mass of faces pressed together before finally a boy, one with a bandanna tied on his head, shoved his hand into the huddle gripping a paper bag tightly. Gabe simply nodded as she counted the boys off into teams and then divided the rations of paint balls, cans of shaving cream and toilet paper rolls to the teams.  
  
"Break!" she hollered, sending the boys splintering off into their consecutive teams. She nodded as she quickly skimmed over her group. She stuck the new boy, Duo, with her to keep an eye on him. The other members included the first boy who had been there, Tiff, and a maniacal master mind when it came to trickery, Mitch. Pathetic for her own group, she thought to herself. The new kid would more likely than not be of no use what so ever.  
  
The quartet found their way all too soon to a flashy, red sports car with its top lowered down. "This is perfect!" Gabe squealed with ultimate pleasure as she motioned for the others to follow her. As she pointed to the sports car, the three boys readied aim and then proceeded to slam the car multiple times with paint balls. Slowly, but surely, the car's color changed as it was repeatedly struck. Duo reached into his pocked and extracted a few eggs. Gabe noticed, but a moment too late as Duo threw them harshly against the car.  
  
Suddenly, an alarm sounded, forcing the children to freeze with terror as a man of roughly eighteen skidded out of a shop across the street and screeched, "You fucking kids!" Darting across the street hastily, he headed towards the girl, the one who seemed to be leading in the attack.  
  
"Go!" Gabe screamed waving to the boys in which direction to run for their lives. As Duo, the last of the boys, passed her she turned to retreat also, but was halted as the enraged teenager grabbed her by the shoulder fiercely and swung her around so the should face him fully.  
  
"You little shit…" the teenager spat, lifting the girl up by the collar of her shirt. "You're going to pay for what you did to my car!" he yelled into her face as she murmured, squirming and flailing her legs in the air in a poor attempt to get away. She knew she would eventually get caught, but it was nothing like this. She whimpered, digging her fingers against the man's large hands.  
  
The man growled ferociously as he ducked down a darkened alleyway, carrying the kicking and now almost screaming child with him. She would pay in a way that she had never imagined she could. "You've been a bad little girl, and now you'll pay for it," he hissed, pushing the girl onto the dirty alley floor and unbuckling his belt with his free hand.  
  
"Somebody help me!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "ANYBODY!!!" She lurched and lashed her body around, continuing to scream bloody murder. She had heard of street girls being molested and raped, but she never would have thought that it could ever happen to her. The man was much stronger than her and chances were that she would not be able to escape him. Water droplets gathered at the corners of her eyes as she screamed with every ounce of energy that she had in her body.  
  
The man chuckled, sliding his pants down and pausing before going any further. He used his body weight to hold her lower body down and her wrists with one of his hands. With his free arm, he swung it back and flung it at Gabe's face full force, something cracking in the process. Blood briefly flew from her face as she felt him invade her body. She could not feel much else as she glared up into the fake colony sky. She closed her eyes tightly, his hand now firmly planted across her mouth. He was stealing her innocence and not a single soul could stop him… 


	4. Lessons Learned...life began anew

1 Chapter 4  
  
2 Age: 9  
  
3 Place: Gaati Hospital  
  
The look on the man's face, in his eyes, was etched into the girl's memory. The cowards who ran and paid no mind to their team leader's cries. She was no longer a virgin and was in extreme pain, a pain she had never felt in her life before. Briefly she flickered her eyes open to observe the place that she was resting. It was not cold and dirty and wretched like the alley. She shivered at the thought and slowly sat up, cringing at the terrible pain in her lower abdomen. Suffice to say she hated men for the rest of her life.  
  
"Oh good, you are alive!" a nicely dressed nurse giggled softly as she walked up next to the girl's bedside, yanking open the blinds as she stood there. "How are you feeling, little miss?" she smiled sweetly, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder momentarily.  
  
Human touch…The girl slowly looked at the nurse's hand then deftly knocked it away. "I've been raped, I think my nose is broken, it feels like I have a black eye, and my insides feel like they're burning. Don't touch me again. How would you feel?" she grumbled in one, even tone the entire time. She hated hospitals. The stupid bimbo nurses were paid to be nice. She certainly did not want their hokey, fake sympathy.  
  
The nurse, stunned, took a few steps backwards. Out of the mouth of a child or not, those words were simply covered in hatred. She had never heard anything such as this in her entire nursing career. "Uh…well, would you like an ice pack?" the nurse politely asked. She was not quite sure how else she could help.  
  
Gabe merely grunted, raising a hand and motioning the nurse to leave, which she did so quite quickly. Flopping back against her pillow, she tried to think of anything but what had happened. She wondered who had called an ambulance or even picked her up from that alley. Nothing would ever be the same again.  
  
"You're awake finally," a soft, caring voice cooed, quietly closing the door. Gabe deftly sat up and wide-eyed glared at the owner of the voice. The figure standing at the door smiled serenely and looked very gentle and warm. She walked over and sat in a chair located directly next to the bed. "Do you mind?" the lady politely questioned.  
  
"Your choice," grunted Gabe rudely. Whoever this nice-looking lady was she had no business entering a room without knocking or some kind of notice beforehand. She was clad in a military-esque outfit that seemed to have been from World War II. Despite the clothes, she appeared very clean. Even the uniform looked as if it were pressed.  
  
"I'm the one who saved you. I called the police. The man who did this to you is most likely going to die for what he's done. He's a repeated offender," the lady sighed, taking up Gabe's hand into her own. Her touch was gentle and quite reassuring, as well as the look in her oceanic eyes. "I am Commander Taisen." The lady paused, awaiting a response from the girl.  
  
"Oh…umm…" the girl muttered as she fumbled over memories, trying to create some sort of alias. She did not want to be known as the abandoned homeless Osinarcus girl who was raped. She gasped as she remembered something that her mother had told her long ago. Her mother had kept her children protected from much information about their father, however she did tell them his last name. Sept…uhh…"Sept! Just call me Sept."  
  
The lady smiled sweetly. "Taisen" was not her own name either. Using an alias would be the best move in the long run. "Very well, Sept. I have a proposition for you. How would you like to join in the fight for the colonies' independence?" The Commander had come from the L1 colony cluster and was in search of anxious young people to join the Rebel group that she led. Together, they would fight for their freedom from the Earth Sphere Alliance.  
  
"I…uh…haven't fought much. I'm not a well-trained fighter," she stuttered. Going off to fight a war was most definitely not the ideal thing to do. She was more than well trained. Being raised on the streets for the past three years, she had learned how to defend for herself, as well as fight for the hell of it.  
  
Taisen nodded. "So uh…all that car vandalizing…?" she began then forced herself to stop. She was fully aware of everything that this child had done in the past three years. She was far more advanced than soldiers who had been training all of their lives were. Taisen simply raised her pointer finger to her own face and neatly tapped her temple.  
  
Sept sighed harshly because there was no getting around it. As a gangster, she was slick, but as a soldier, she could out-best men twice her age. "Alright, I'll fight, but not for you. I have my own reasons. Understand?" She wasn't about to go fight some stupid war for a lady that she did not even know. She would fight it for her mother and brother. If she died, then she would die with honor. "And don't underestimate me either," she added.  
  
"We'll get you out of here as soon as you heal, unless you want to leave sooner?" Taisen questioned, glancing down at the fragile girl as she stood to leave. The girl was strong, but pushing her too far might push her over the edge.  
  
"Sooner…preferably. My physical wounds will heal, it's the internal ones that will never leave," Sept gulped. Once again, in her life, things were opted for change. Perhaps she would become some great war hero or maybe she would find her father, that is if he were still alive. Sept wandered into her thoughts and did not hear the door open and then close behind the Commander. 


End file.
